Japan approves domestic certifying body for PKS

Japanese authorities have approved a domestic organisation as a sustainability certifying body on palm kernel shells (PKS) for the country's feed-in tariff (FiT) and feed-in premium (FiP) schemes, potentially simplifying processes for buyers and suppliers.

The Japan Gas Appliances Inspection Association (JIA) can inclusively certify a whole supply chain for PKS managed by one single company's responsibility, such as a Japanese trading house.

Each PKS-related business, including producers and transporters, had to be previously certified for FiT and FiP by international third parties, such as Green Gold Label (GGL) and the Round Table for Sustainable Biomass.

The approval of a domestic certifying body can make the sustainability certification process easier to handle, reducing PKS prices and promoting new supply chains, the JIA said. It will certify the sustainability of wood pellets and wood chips in the future. But there will unlikely be a big impact on the PKS market, a market participant said, because many PKS-related businesses already have GGL or other third-party certifications.

Japan is a key importer of PKS for biomass-fired power generation. It imported 478,000t of PKS in June. Its largest supplier was Indonesia, followed by Malaysia.

By Takeshi Maeda